Wolfe County rescues three hikers remotely

Wolfe County Search & Rescue said it guided three lost hikers in Menifee County to safety Saturday night without sending a field team. (lex18.com) The hikers were reunited safely, and the team said the rescue was handled completely remotely through navigation help and communications links. (lex18.com) (wtvq.com) Wolfe County Search & Rescue serves the Red River Gorge area and also responds in Menifee and Breathitt counties when requested. The organization says it has rescued more than 1,600 people with an all-volunteer team of 50-plus members. (wcsart.com 1) (wcsart.com 2) The remote method works by sending a locator link to a stranded hiker’s phone, then watching the person’s position on a map while talking them back toward a trailhead. Public information officer Kevin Osbourn told LEX 18 that the system can turn hours of foot searching into minutes of phone guidance. (lex18.com) (wcsart.com) The team has been using that playbook repeatedly this spring. On April 6, rescuers sent a locator link to a lost hiker off Osborne Bend Trail and tracked her as she walked back out after getting cliffed out on a ridge line. (wcsart.com) On April 7, the same tool helped identify two disoriented hikers near Angel Windows, but remote directions were not enough, so two rescuers hiked in to retrieve them. (wcsart.com) Osbourn told LEX 18 that warmer weather has pushed rescue volume higher, with about two rescues each week as more visitors head onto Kentucky trails. He said keeping rescuers out of the woods when possible reduces risk to the team and speeds up missions. (lex18.com) (wcsart.com) The team still tells hikers to carry a map or navigation app, download offline layers, bring a portable charger, and stay on marked trails. In this case, the technology worked because the hikers could still communicate long enough to be talked out. (lex18.com) (wcsart.com)